Rivers and waterfalls put us in the mood for romance

FAR from dampening passions, a waterside location is just what is required to fall in love, a survey has found.

Britons yearn for the proximity to secluded lake shores, rivers or waterfalls to show their tender side, publishers Mills and Boon discovered.

However, the truly romantic will have to cross Scotland’s Loch Alsh to find the UK’S most sought-after lover’s nest on the Isle of Skye.

Fairy Pools, in Glenbrittle, came first in the survey of 2,000 people of Britain’s most romantic places, while Grasmere in the Lake District came second and the spa city of Bath third.

The survey showed 94 per cent of Britons want to go on holiday with their partner to spend time next to waterfalls, rivers, and the sea.

Romantics also want luxury accommodation and warm weather for evening strolls after a candlelit dinner.

Included in the top 10 of the lovers’ hot spots is Portmeirion in North Wales, which was designed by Sir Clough William-ellis to look like an Italian village.

The ancient mystery of the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland, came tenth in the survey after the River Cam in Cambridge, made famous by successive generations of young people who have idled along its banks.

Outside the UK, France, Greece and Italy came in the top three for romantic getaways.

Paris and Venice proved to be the favourites for city breaks and the white cliffs of the volcanic island of Santorini, in the Aegean Sea, are popular with the adventurous.

The survey also showed that almost half of Britons have enjoyed a romance while on holiday.